AAFA/FLA Apparel & Footwear Industry Commitment to Responsible Recruitment

On March 28, 2023, the American Apparel & Footwear Association and the Fair Labor Association re-launched an enhanced, proactive industry effort to address potential forced labor risks for migrant workers in the global supply chain.

Commitment:
As an industry and as individual companies, we are committed to the fair treatment of workers in the apparel, footwear, and travel goods supply chains. One important part of this ongoing effort is working together to eliminate conditions that can lead to forced labor in the countries from which we source products.

We commit to work with our global supply chain partners to create conditions so that:

  • No workers pay for their job
  • Workers receive a timely refund of fees and costs paid to obtain or maintain their job;
  • Workers retain control of their travel documents and have full freedom of movement; and
  • All workers are informed, in a language they understand, of the basic terms of their employment before leaving their country of origin. 

Conditions for Signing the Commitment to Responsible Recruitment
For the Commitment to Responsible Recruitment to be an effective industry tool to address risks of forced labor, companies must have the intent to seriously and effectively implement the Commitments. 

Therefore, companies who sign the Commitment to Responsible Recruitment agree to do the following:

  1. Incorporate the Commitment to Responsible Recruitment into their company social compliance standards, such as their code of conduct within one year from the date of signing;
  2. Periodically report on their actions to imbed elements of the Commitment to Responsible Recruitment in company’s policies and processes, such as through their sustainability reporting and/or modern slavery legal disclosures.
For questions about how to take part, contact AAFA’s Senior Vice President, Supply Chain Nate Herman. For media inquiries, contact media@aafaglobal.org.
 

Resources

The following documents outline resources to assist organizations taking part in the Commitment to Responsible Recruitment:


Commitment Webinars
Past webinar recordings and slide decks can be found below:
  • Briefing on Protecting Migrant Workers in Your Supply Chain (August 11, 2021) - Recording / Slide Deck
  • AAFA/FLA briefing with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on refugees from Ukraine and IOM’s worker recruitment initiative (September 12, 2022) - Recording / Slide Deck
  • Migrant Worker Resources in Thailand / Proposed Standard on Repayment of Recruitment Fees (December 16, 2020) - Recording / Slide Deck
  • Migrant Labor / Responsible Recruitment Implementation (June 18, 2020) - Recording / Slide Deck
  • Responsible Recruitment in Thailand (December 12, 2019) - Recording / Slide Deck
  • The Migrant Worker Journey and the Commitment to Responsible Recruitment (July 17, 2019) - Recording / Slide Deck
  • Aligning Your Social Compliance Program with the Commitment (April 25, 2019) - Recording / Slide Deck
Related Webinars

Participants

Download full list of participants.